Paris is a gorgeous city and it’s only a quick 2.5 hour train ride on the Eurostar from London. We visited in the middle of September. The weather was perfection – cool and lovely in the low 20s. The city looked majestic and elegant as always. Remnants of the recent Olympics and Paralympics were being taken down. So based on these few days in Paris and my time in London, which is better? (Note: I’m probably biased as I know London better and I speak English!)
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What do you know about the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania? We had an enjoyable week-long visit to these countries and have come away with a new appreciation of the region. We visited Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius with day trips to Sigulda in Latvia and Trakai in Lithuania. Here are our 10 discoveries about the Baltics.
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The Nordic countries are an intriguing lot. What makes them so progressive? How can they be exemplary by so many measures? We visited Helsinki for 3 days to see for ourselves what the capital of Finland is like.
Recently, a very clever tactic was employed by the historic and magnificent Victoria and Albert Museum in London to bring thousands of new people through their doors. The V&A museum is iconic in its own right and is one of London’s largest museums. It contains hundreds of stunning items in its collection and is a must-do for anyone in London.
Unfortunately, times are changing and the people of today are not so engaged with static displays of items. Our attention spans are short. A museum full of historic items can become a domain of older people, quiet, stuffy and full of items that seem insignificant without understanding their back-story.
So following on from my other two posts about how the silent disco is a positive evolution of nightclubbing and how the theatre is evolving to attract a new, younger demographic, how must a museum evolve to keep up and draw in the youth of today?
Continue readingThe Olympics occupies a special place in my heart. That may mark me as an idealist or soft-hearted but I love the idea of global unity. I watched the Paris 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony from the iconic location of The Scoop, the outdoor, sunken amphitheatre next to City Hall in London. It was a crowd of hundreds watching under the gaze of the skyline of the City of London and just across the river from the historic Tower of London and the iconic Tower Bridge.
In contradiction to what seems like a unanimous howl of discontent and negative reviews about the opening ceremony, I just wanted to say that I really liked it. Yes, perhaps to have this view is hokey and overly sentimental. I am aware of the issues plaguing the Olympics like doping and budget blowouts. I can see that the opening ceremony could have been better in parts but really, there was a lot that was spectacular and commendable. It was great! Well done Paris!
Continue readingYes, London is sometimes drizzly and sometimes grey but it is also often very beautiful.
April is the perfect time for visiting Malta. The temperature is perfect! Here are some observations made from a week long trip and also some travel guidance for visiting Malta.
There are so many annoying and distasteful aspects of traditional nightclubbing. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that a silent disco ELIMINATES every single one of these aspects! Following is a list of all the things there are to dislike about traditional nightclubbing and how a silent disco is so much better! This is based on a silent disco event held in the crypt at St Martin’s In the Fields church in London.
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